My husband & I have a Yellow Lab, male, 1 year & 3 months old, weighs about 95 pounds. Last week we took him to the vet for vomiting and diarrhea, he wasn't eating much but was otherwise normal (still drinking, playing, etc.). Vet put him on Rx food for easier digestion, and gave us an antibiotic and an anti-nausea pill to take for 7 days - all tests came back negative, he said it was just a stomach bug (no obstructions, parasites, etc.) he probably just ate something in the yard that gave it to him (he loves sticks and recently "met" a baby bunny). OK, so...

When we gave him the Rx food he refused to eat it so the Vet said to add hamburger and rice, which we did, and he got to eating again. Now he is all better, but won't go back to eating his regular food! The vet is now telling us he may not ever go back and we'll have to keep him on meat and rice...

This seems ridiculous to me! Does anyone have any better advice than this? :confused: How long should we let him go before trying something else? He is still drinking, still playing, not at all lethargic, but starting to sulk & shoot us "looks" (people w/ Labs know what I mean!). This is the 3rd day of his hunger strike. If anyone has had this experience, please share any tricks you may have... I don't want to give in to him but I don't want him to get sick again either, which I hope I am not courting by holding out...

Thanks for any advice in advance...

I am not sure if dogs are the same as cats BUT when one of my cats would not eat the vet told us that it is false a cat will not starve themselves. They will not eat when they are hungry enough. It was awhile ago but I think she said 2 days of not eating can do damage.
You say he is still drinking and playing so that is good. I wonder how long you should wait before you call the vet? That is the only thing worrying me is how long can they go without eating.
Could you mix the meat and rice and slowly give less of that every feeding with the ideal outcome being eating only the dog food.

While I cannot entirely agree with Mogrann, the idea of gradually "weaning" him off the hamburger/rice has merit. Whenever we switch brands (about every third bag) we mix the last couple of pounds in with the new to avoid confusing the animal.

We've already called the vet, the answer was basically an "oh well, you're stuck feeding him beef and rice now" - which doesn't make any sense to me. Perhaps I will go back to the mix and wean him off (again) more slowly this time... thanks for the advice.

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Originally Posted by michellelovero

We've already called the vet, the answer was basically an "oh well, you're stuck feeding him beef and rice now" - which doesn't make any sense to me. Perhaps I will go back to the mix and wean him off (again) more slowly this time...thanks for the advice.

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Only way I could see that answer making any kind of sense would be if the clerk you talked to on the phone is a "raw food" activist that didn't speak to the vet before answering. The "raw food" diets I have seen articles about make the same claims that "organic" produce growers make for humans. They may be correct, but both are too expensive for me to even try.

No, that was the response from the Vet, not the clerk. Funny because this problem started from following the Vet's advice in the first place...

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Originally Posted by michellelovero

No, that was the response from the Vet, not the clerk. Funny because this problem started from following the Vet's advice in the first place...

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Can you spell "second opinion?"

Edited to add: Sorry, I wax sarcastic from time to time. Really, look for a new vet.

Is anyone sneaking him 'treats' or 'goodies' because he gives the 'poor pitiful me' look?

Is he eating treats? Have you tried using his regular food as treats? Sometimes making them think their food is 'special' or what you are eating can convince them to eat.

@Catsmine: We are actually planning not to return to the Vet that gave us that advice - just thought I would come here in the interim.

@Cat1864: We went radio silent on all treats - just the dog food. We did also try the food-as-treats trick, he just spit it out.

Promising update: Since he was seemingly still very interested in OUR food, my husband took some kibble from the dog dish and began "eating" it, which sparked his interest. He ate most of the food in his bowl this way. When we got up this morning I fed him as usual and he ate the whole bowl without being tricked or hand fed. I'm keeping my fingers crossed now that this will stick!

Thanks again to everyone for all the helpful advice, I really appreciate it. :)

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Originally Posted by michellelovero

Promising update: Since he was seemingly still very interested in OUR food, my husband took some kibble from the dog dish and began "eating" it, which sparked his interest. He ate most of the food in his bowl this way. When we got up this morning I fed him as usual and he ate the whole bowl without being tricked or hand fed. I'm keeping my fingers crossed now that this will stick!

Thanks again to everyone for all the helpful advice, I really appreciate it. :)

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We love to help and we love updates especially when they are good news.

Good luck.

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